A Monotype Workshop

Cyndi Wish talking about making stencils

Early this morning, printmakers Cyndi Wish and Cecilia Rossey led a workshop in our studio for Trudi’s students and anyone else that wanted to show up. The first thing that I learned is that printmakers distinguish between a monotype, which has some repeatable elements in the form of stencils, plates, linoleum blocks, or other matrices; and a monoprint, which is completely free-form and unrepeatable.
 

The next thing I learned is that a matrix can be made from just about anything. The pages of illustrated children’s books are particularly good, since they often are fairly stiff and the commercial printing process gives them a coating that allows them to stand up to repeated runs through the press. Plastic and Mylar are good too, but they are harder on blades.

As Cyndi laid out inks and began to work, the conversation shifted—as it often does in the studio—between technical information about printmaking and more general observations about life and art. Here are a few scraps that I was able to jot down.

Cyndi Wish, Cis Rossey, and Trudi Ludwig

Cyndi:  “I am not a goal oriented person. I am a process artist, a community artist. I enjoy working in the studio and having a chance to talk with people about it.”

 Cis: “If God gave you a voice it is your responsibility to use it. In art it is also sharing with community.” 

Cyndi: “Behind every piece of art or music or writing is a person who once felt shy about it.

Cis: “There is no really right way once you become a developed artist. you need to learn technique but can choose how to use it.”

Early prints in the series

Cyndi: “Stencils or matrices are words in a visual language that can be reworked into a series. You start to develop a cohesive body of work, a series, without even trying. I could do this all day.” 

Meanwhile, Cyndi worked steadily, layering images of whirling lines, words like “but” and “and,” and butterfly shapes cut into linoleum blocks. Soon, a table was filled with prints, all related to one another, yet no two the same.